trebuchet

plural trebuchets · alternative obsolete trabuch · alternative obsolete trabucho · alternative obsolete trabuquet · alternative obsolete trepeget

1. A medieval siege engine consisting of a large pivoting arm heavily weighted on one end.

   Medieval trebuchets are said to have been capable of launching 90-kg projectiles over distances of more than 300 meters.

   1 more example

   With counterweight trebuchets at its disposal, a besieging force at last had the advantage in sieges, and it was probably the appearance of the trebuchet which prompted the changes in castle design from the mid-twelfth century onwards which were described in the previous chapter: the move from rectangular to round or multiform towers […]

   2003, Helen Nicholson, Medieval Warfare, Macmillan International Higher Education, →ISBN, page 95

2. A torture device for dunking suspected witches by means of a chair attached to the end of a long pole.

present singular third person trebuchets · participle present trebucheting · participle past trebucheted · past trebucheted · alternative obsolete trabuch · alternative obsolete trabucho · alternative obsolete trabuquet · alternative obsolete trepeget

1. To shoot with a trebuchet.